V3Ch18: Blue Message

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Translator: Soafp

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“The rumor about you withdrawing from the Tenka Contest… is it true?”

The night of the day when a blue storm swept through Tenka Academy.

That afternoon, I had plans to play GPEX with Aoyama and Mahiro. The moment Aoyama joined the Discordo call, Mahiro couldn’t hold back and blurted out the question.

Mahiro had told me about it earlier, but it seemed like he'd only heard the news second-hand and hadn't confirmed it directly with her.

No one had managed to ask her at school.

A lot of students had crowded around Aoyama to verify the truth. Apparently, Mahiro didn't have the courage to push his way through the crowd.

“I was curious about that rumor too.”

“It’s true. I’ve decided to withdraw from the Tenka Contest.”

Aoyama said it without hesitation.

“Why?”

“Why, you ask…”

“With the momentum you have, you had a real chance at becoming the sole goddess this year.”

“Yeah, we were rooting for you too!”

Hold up, don't just lump me in with that without asking.

I wanted to retort, but I held back.

“There are a lot of reasons, but mainly because I don’t think I’m suited to be a goddess. I was never really interested in it, to begin with.”

“…Is it final? You’re really withdrawing?”

“I've already told the teachers. I have no intention of taking it back.”

It seemed like Aoyama's decision was firm.

“I still think you’re suited to be a goddess, Aoyama-san. The sports festival was so exciting because of you. No one else could have stirred up that much excitement.”

Mahiro probably couldn't accept it.

He'd always been part of the Blue faction, supporting Aoyama all along. His favorite was suddenly withdrawing from the contest. It must have felt incomprehensible.

“It's not that I'm putting myself down or anything. If anything, it’s the opposite.”

“The opposite?”

“I finally feel like I can take a step forward. I feel freed. The title of ‘goddess' might sound cool, but I don't need it.”

To be honest, when I first heard about her withdrawal, I'd imagined something negative.

I remembered her talking to Renji during the sports festival. Right after that, she seemed down, and I'd assumed she withdrew because she'd been forced into a bad mood by something said during that conversation.

But there was no hint of sadness in Aoyama's voice. I'd known her for a long time, so I was sure of it.

“Hey, how about we keep talking while playing?”

“Eh—”

“A new map was added with the update, right? I've been looking forward to it. They added new weapons too, so let's have some fun.”

Though Mahiro and I were a bit taken aback, Aoyama sounded excited.

Well, we had gathered to play the game anyway, and we really were looking forward to the new map. So, we reluctantly began the game.

Once we started, Aoyama seemed just like her usual self. No, her gameplay was even sharper than usual. Her energy was higher too, and it seemed like she was truly feeling liberated, just like she'd said.

On the other hand, Mahiro and I played terribly, probably because we were distracted.

Part of it was because we couldn't adapt to the new map, but we kept making silly mistakes. Especially Mahiro—he was so shaken that he was playing like a complete beginner again.

After a few rounds, Aoyama spoke up.

“I feel bad for you, Nazuka, who was supporting me.”

“…”

“Sorry, but my decision won't change.”

Her words darkened the mood.

…At this rate, things were going to end on a sour note.

I didn't fully understand why Aoyama had withdrawn from the contest yet, but I couldn't let the mood drag down the whole gaming session. We were supposed to be having fun, after all.

“So, you're not becoming the goddess. But that doesn't really change anything, right?”

“Not at all. I still love gaming, and I'll keep streaming like always. The only difference is that I won't be called ‘goddess' at school anymore. Plus, I won't have to attend those annoying meetings. Honestly, I see it as a win.”

That made sense.

Even Renji had complained about those meetings being a hassle. For Aoyama, who was a popular streamer, it made sense that she wouldn't want to waste time on them.

“Besides, there was no guarantee I'd win and become the goddess this year anyway.”

“True enough.”

That's right.

While Aoyama had momentum thanks to her performance at the sports festival, the competition this year had been intense from the start. Even if she hadn't withdrawn, it wasn't certain that she would have won.

“So yeah, I won't be the goddess, but I hope you'll still support me.”

“Yeah, I got it.”

“…I understand too. I'll keep supporting you from now on.”

It probably wasn't fully resolved yet, but it seemed like Mahiro had come to terms with the situation.

From that point on, everything went smoothly.

Mahiro’s gameplay became sharp again. In fact, he had been playing so much lately that he had gotten incredibly good. Honestly, he was now at a level incomparable to mine.

Even if Aoyama wasn't aiming to be the goddess, it wouldn't change anything about her. When I thought about it, it was just a mere title within the school.

I got unnecessarily shaken up by it myself.

As my emotions settled, I became more accustomed to the new map. In the end, we won the final match, bringing a satisfying conclusion to the session.

“So, what did you think of the new map? Did you like it?”

“I actually kind of liked it.”

“Me too. It's challenging. The buildings make it hard to remember the layout, but as long as we get used to that, it should be fine.”

At first, I wasn't sure how it was going to go, but in the end, things wrapped up just like always.

“Oh, by the way, there's going to be another tournament soon. Wanna join?”

“Of course! Shota, you're in, right?”

“…I don't mind.”

The last tournament was fun. I think we did reasonably well. We got crushed last time, but this time I want to beat the pros.

With a new goal set and our motivation high, we wrapped up the GPEX session.

“…?”

Right after that, a message from Aoyama arrived in the Discordo chat.

“Can we meet up tomorrow if you're free?”

That was sudden.

Tomorrow is Saturday, so there’s no school. I have time.

“Remember I said I had something important to talk about? This is a continuation of that. I could've just said it during the call, but I thought it might be better not to tell Nazuka.”

She did mention having something important to talk about.

I thought the contest withdrawal was the important thing, but apparently, it wasn't.

“…at my house, huh?”

Since she had come over for the cooking contest before, there was nothing particularly special about it. But what really had my attention was this “important talk” she wanted to have.

It’s probably something even bigger than her dropping out of the contest.

“I have time, but I can't go out. My parents and Shion are going shopping tomorrow during the day, so I have to stay home and look after the place.”

I typed out my message.

“In a way, that's perfect. I didn't want Shion-chan to hear about this anyway. I'll come over tomorrow afternoon.”

Her reply came almost immediately. I just replied with a quick “Got it.”

“…”

It was almost on a whim.

I logged into Discordo with my old account. I thought this important conversation might have something to do with things from the past.

As I expected, there was a message waiting for me.

It was sent last night.

“I don't know if you're checking this account, but I thought I'd write anyway. After all this time, I've finally made up my mind. This will be the last message I send on this account. Once again, I'm really sorry for back then. I'm so glad Shota came back safe. Oh, and thanks for cheering me on during the tournament.”

“…”

As I read the message, my heart raced.

It seems like she's figured out who I really am.